Zero Foodprint is an innovative organization leaning into a solutions pathway they call Collective Regeneration, which applies funding frameworks that have been successful in renewable energy and recycling to agricultural transition. Their approach aims to proactively implement “the next regenerative practice on the next acre,” enabling direct investment in climate-smart farming practices. 

Modeled after collective action programs such as $1/energy bill to improve the grid or 5/10 cents per can to incentivize recycling, their program collects 1% from restaurants and/or $1 per trash bill and grants it out to farmers to use for projects like compost application, cover crop planting, reduced tillage, managed grazing, and planting perennials and cover crops. Choice architecture encourages participating businesses to make the programs optional (opt-out); this means every purchase is creating local climate action by default, but any customer can choose not to participate. Anecdotally, business members report that less than one out of a thousand customers opts out of funding regenerative agriculture projects.

The climate smart practices that the collected dollars flow toward sequester carbon and enable farms and fields to better withstand drought and flood: each 1% increase in soil organic matter enables it to draw down ~35 tons CO2e per acre and hold an additional ~25,000 gallons of water. Healthy soil and woody biomass on the 32 million acres of working lands in Oregon and Washington could sequester millions of tons of CO2e per year, while conserving water and improving resilience, biodiversity and prosperity. All Zero Foodprint projects are coordinated and validated by technical assistance providers like the Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Extension, etc.

The potential benefit and decarbonization from transitioning agriculture is comparable to the need and opportunity for the transition to renewable energy, yet agriculture lacks mechanisms for systemic change. Producers cannot bear the cost of transition and the food economy and existing grant programs are ineffective at incentivizing transformative change. Zero Foodprint is building the willingness to pay for these climate and resilience solutions through scalable economic programs, contractually utilizing collected funds to implement on-farm projects. This is direct action to address legacy emissions because the work is actual carbon removal, not just reductions and/or awareness.

In its pilot phase, Zero Foodprint initiated public-private collaborations with state agencies and regional governments in California and Colorado, with its network of 80+ businesses generating and awarding over $3 million to 140 farm projects on over 30,000 acres, with over 130,000 tons of carbon sequestration modeled. As a BIPOC led nonprofit with a diverse staff and Board, ZFP pursues equity in grantmaking by ensuring that over 25% of outgoing funds are for BIPOC applicants, conducting focused outreach among underserved farmer facing groups, and providing a scoring boost for underserved applicants. ZFP leaders also engage with state and local policy makers to codify these mechanisms into law. 

Zero Foodprint will use support from the CO2 Foundation to conduct outreach to local businesses and policy makers to advance collective regeneration in the Pacific Northwest. In Oregon and Washington, 1% from restaurants and $1/trash bill could generate up to $415 million per year for the direct implementation of healthy soil and carbon sequestration projects. The near-term goal for the project is to gain commitments from 20 businesses, contributing ~$200,000 per year and moving towards (MOUs) with 3 state or local governments. 

This project is a step toward enabling the food economy to meet the immense opportunity and demand for agricultural transition while also giving customers what they want: an opportunity to directly support climate restoration. With support from the CO2 Foundation, we anticipate that Zero Foodprint will accelerate its progress and impact in Oregon and Washington, doing outreach to create networks to achieve critical mass in the Northwest.